Control system and method for heating and cooling devices

ABSTRACT

A device and method for managing the supply of energy to heating and cooling devices based on environmental conditions within a regulated area, said system including one or more sensor devices within said regulated area for communicating one or more status signals, and a control module for receiving said one or more status signals, said control module analyzing said one or more status signals based on one or more heating and cooling routines, said one or more heating and cooling routines instructing said control module to communicate one or more control signals to said heating and cooling devices, said one or more control signals activating or deactivating said heating and cooling devices.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a control system and method formanaging the consumption of energy within a regulated area, and moreparticularly to a control system and method for efficiently managing thesupply of energy to heating and cooling equipment based on environmentalconditions within a regulated area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known in the field of building temperature control that thesimple turning on and off of heating or cooling systems in response torequests from thermostats and other sensor devices wastes energy andcauses marked fluctuations in temperatures within temperature regulatedareas, such as commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Duringa heating or cooling cycle, these temperature fluctuations can causediscomfort to the occupants within the temperature regulated areas.Commonly, this is due to the sizing of the heating and cooling equipmentto meet the demands of extreme conditions, either of heat or cold.During high demand conditions, that is extreme heat or cold, systemsdesigned to satisfy these conditions operate in relatively efficientoperating modes, with infrequent off times. Therefore there is anapproximate matching of sizing of equipment to the demand withconsequent infrequent off times. However, as environmental conditionsbecome less extreme, the same equipment has a tendency to overwhelm thereduced demand, remaining on to long and heating or cooling thetemperature regulated area excessively. This phenomenon is known as“overshoot” and can result in significant variances, or “flux”, intemperature in the regulated areas from the temperature set on thethermostat. This, in turn, wastes energy and causes discomfort toindividuals within the temperature regulated areas.

Many computerized systems and methods have been devised to reduce theoccurrence of overshoot. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,585 describesa system in which a series of static on and off sequences, lasting forexample eighteen minutes, are selected and applied successivelydepending upon the heating and cooling demand within the regulated area.One difficulty of such systems is that they do not respond to off-hoursettings when the programmed thermostat or sensor device drops thedemand equipment to save energy, such as when a building is closed topersonnel. This computerized system is also unable to automaticallychange over from heating to cooling functions or vice versa. Therefore,this system cannot adapted to fluctuations in the environmentalconditions in a regulated area from heating to cooling functions thatcan occur in a same day.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a system and method forefficiently managing the supply of energy to heating and cooling devicesbased on temperature conditions within a regulated area that can beutilized with existing sensor devices within a commercial, industrial orresidential building. The present invention further provides a systemand method for automatically adapting to the real time environmentalconditions within a regulated area by optimally determining the programor routine for efficiently supplying energy to the heating and coolingdevices. The present invention also provides for a system and method ofmonitoring and recording the operation of the heating and coolingdevices and sensor devices in order to optimize the efficient supply ofenergy to the heating and cooling devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a system formanaging the supply of energy to heating and cooling devices based onenvironmental conditions within a regulated area, said system includingone or more sensor devices within said regulated area for communicatingone or more status signals, and a control module for receiving said oneor more status signals, said control module analyzing said one or morestatus signals based on one or more heating and cooling routines, saidone or more heating and cooling routines instructing said control moduleto communicate one or more control signals to said heating and coolingdevices, said one or more control signals activating or deactivatingsaid heating and cooling devices.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method formanaging the supply of energy to one or more heating and cooling devicesbased on environmental conditions within a regulated area, said methodincluding the steps of receiving one or more status signals from one ormore sensor devices, selecting one or more heating and cooling routinesbased on said one or more status signals, said heating and coolingroutines having one or more control signal entries, generating one ormore control signals to activate or deactivate said one or more heatingand cooling devices based on said one or more control signal entries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show moreclearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made,by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show preferredembodiments of the present invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates out of no preferredembodiment of the control unit;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment ofthe control module shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating exemplary visuals displays provided bythe LED module of the control module shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of exemplary heating routines foractivating and deactivating the one or more heating and cooling devicesin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of exemplary cooling routines foractivating and deactivating the one or more heating and cooling devicesin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the steps to be performed in managingthe supply of energy to heating and cooling devices based on temperatureconditions within a regulated area in an embodiment of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made to FIGS. 1-6 which illustrate a control system andmethod for efficiently managing the supply of energy to heating andcooling devices based on environmental conditions within a regulatedarea in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,and shown generally as numeral 10.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a system for managing theefficient supply of energy to one or more heating and cooling devices isshown generally as control system 10. Control system 10 comprises one ormore sensor devices 12 positioned within a regulated area 14 which areadapted for communicating one or more status signals 16 to a controlmodule 18. The control module 18 is positioned between the one or moresensor devices 12 and the one or more heating and cooling devices 20 tocontrol the activation and deactivation of said heating and coolingdevices 20. The one or more status signals 16 provide the control module18 with data concerning the environmental conditions within theregulated area 14 and any other data utilized by the control system 10.The one or more sensor devices 12 may include thermostats, humiditysensors and/or any suitable sensor devices which are capable ofdetermining the environmental conditions within the regulated area 14and communicating one or more status signals 16 to the control module18. The sensor devices 12 may also include thermostats provided withinthe heating and cooling devices 20, shown as numeral 19 in FIG. 2.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the one or more heating and coolingdevices 20 are adapted to provide heating and/or cooling functionswithin the regulated area 14 upon receiving one or more control signals22 from the control module 18. The status signals 16 from the one ormore sensor devices 12 are analyzed and recorded by the control module18. In response to the one or more status signals 16, the control module18 will communicate the one or more control signals 22 to the heatingand cooling devices 20 associated with or within the control module 18itself. The control signals 22 can be designed to activate (i.e. turn“on”) or deactivate (i.e. turn “off”) the heating and cooling devices 20in accordance with a series of predefined or user defined heating and/orcooling routines programmed into the control module 18. In someembodiments of the present invention, the status and control signals 16,22 may be communicated from and to each of the sensor devices 12, thecontrol module 18, and/or the heating and cooling devices 20 via privateintranet, the publicly accessible internet, power lines, telephonelines, Ethernet connections, ISDN lines, optical data-transport links,wireless data links, wireless cellular links anchor any suitablecommunication means known or hereafter developed.

Referring to FIG. 2, shown is a detailed schematic diagram of thecontrol module 18 through which data may be received as input statussignals 16 from the one or more sensor devices 12 and provided as outputcontrol signals 22 for managing the supply of energy to the heating andcooling devices 20 in accordance with one very specific embodiment ofthe invention. The control module 18 consists of a set of integratedcomponents and includes a PIC microcontroller 24, a memory means 26, acommunication means 28, and a dock module 30. The microcontroller 24 andmemory means 26 are adapted to which contain the instructions, routinesand algorithm that initiate the communication of the control signals 22to the heating and cooling devices 20 at a first output 32 and a secondoutput 33. The memory means 26 is adapted for receiving and recordingdata, such as, for example, information pertaining to the statussignals, control signals, environmental conditions, energy efficiency ofthe control system 10 and historical information.

The memory means 26 may be any suitable discrete memory device, such asflash memory, residing in whole or in part in the microcontroller 24.While the microcontroller 24 and memory means 28 are shown as discretecomponents, it should be appreciated that both components may bedistributed amongst various components of the control module 18 actingin concert.

The communication means 28 is adapted to communicate with the sensordevices 12 and/or the heating and cooling devices 20 via the firstoutput 32 and the second output 33 provided in the control module 18.The first output 32 can be adapted to communicate the control signals 22relating to the heating of the regulated area 14 to the heating andcooling devices 20. Similarly, the second output 33 can be adapted tocommunicate the control signals 22 relating to the cooling of theregulated areas 14 to the heating and cooling devices 20. The frequencyand duration of these control signals 22 are determined based upon theenvironmental conditions within the regulated area 14, and particularlythe frequency of the one or more status signals 16 from the sensordevices 12. The frequency and duration of the control signals 22 canalso depend upon the particular routine initiated by the control module18 to respond to the environmental conditions in the regulated area 14.The control module 18 analyzes and records each of the one or morestatus signals 16 from the one or more sensor devices 12 in order tooptimize the performance of the control system 10, and to select themost efficient heating or cooling routine to address the existingenvironmental conditions in the regulated area 14.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the communication means 28 may alsoreceive and transmit the status signals 16 and control signals 22 via awireless network (not shown). Each of the one or more sensors devices 12situated throughout the regulated area 14 are provided with a uniqueaddress to enable the microcontroller 24 of the control module 18 toidentify and pole the sensor devices 12 to receive the data (includingthe status signals 16) relating to the environmental conditions in thevicinity of the subject sensor device 12. In the embodiment of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 2, the communication means 28 includes acommunication bus 34, a communication port 36 and a wireless transceiver36. The communication bus 34 and port 36 may be any suitablecommunication devices known or hereafter developed, such as, forexample, the RS 465 communications bus 10 and the RS232 port 11,respectively.

The communications means 28 may also be adapted to receive and transmitdata to and from sensors devices 12, control module 18 and/or theheating and cooling devices 20 and an external computing device 40operated by repair personnel, utilities personnel, building managementor any other interested user desirous of monitoring the performance ofthe control system 10. The users may also monitor the energy savingsthat have been realized as a result of the use of the control system 10.It should be understood that the control system 10 may communicate withany suitable external computing device 40, such as, for example,personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, pagers,portable electronic mail messaging or other messaging devices, handheldorganizers, portable computing devices or other suitable electronicdevices.

Moreover, it should be understood that the data received and transmittedby communication means 28 can be in any form, such as text, electronicmail, messages, pages, video sounds or images, Preferably, the data istext-based for quick transmission including HTML or XML based documents,for example, but it may be in any other suitable formats.

Referring to FIG. 2, the clock module 30 is a representation of the“real time” of the operation of the control module 18. The real time ofthe control module 18 may be determined using various Internet basedservices, such as, for example, the United States National Institute ofStandards and Technology Clock or the World Time Server Clock. Time iscalculated by the control module 18 by referring to the clock module 30.The clock module 30 may be utilized to “date stamp” the data receivedfor the various sensor devices 12, heating and cooling devices 20 andexternal computing devices 40 pertaining the status signals 16, controlsignals 22, environmental conditions, energy efficiency of the controlsystem 10 and historical information, for example. The clock module 30is also important for various time dependent functions of the controlmodule 18, such as, for example the activation or deactivation of theheating and cooling devices 20 in accordance with the selected routine,as will be discussed in greater detail below.

Based on the environmental conditions within the regulated area 14, thecontrol module 18 will communicate data, including one or more statussignals 16 and control signals 22, to and from the various sensordevices 12, heating and cooling devices 20, and external computingdevices 40. Each of the status signals 16, control signals 22 and/orother data for managing the heating and cooling functions of the controlmodule 18 is date stamped by the clock module 30 and stored in thememory means 26. The data may be stored in the memory means 26 on afirst-in, first-out basis to conserve memory space. This information maythen be transmitted by the communication means 28 to the externalcomputing devices 40 in real time or in response to a scheduled commandor request from the user. This reported information can be utilized by auser to monitor the performance of the control system 10, produce energysaving reports and optimize the algorithms, instructions and routinesused by the microcontroller 24. Since one of the purposes of the controlsystem 10 is to provide a simplified and inexpensive means forefficiently managing the supply of energy to the heating and coolingdevices 20, in preferred embodiments of the present invention, the datarecorded by the control module 18 is transmitted to an external memorydevice (such as the external computing means 40) to be analyzed andoptimized by the user. Using the transmitted data, the user mayreprogram the algorithms, instructions and routines, and communicate thenew routines to the control module 18, via communication means 28, forimplementation and initiation by the microcontroller 24 and memory means26 during the next suitable heating or cooling routine.

In a further embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,the control module 18 further includes a signaling module 42 having oneor more light emitting diode devices 44 which are adapted to providevisual displays to indicate the current status of the control system 10based on the control signals 22 from the microcontroller 24. Referringto FIG. 3, the signaling module 42 may be adapted to provide visualdisplays consisting of various colors or modes, such as, for example,intermittent or constant visual displays. Referring to FIG. 3, shown isan exemplary description of the display signals generated by thesignaling module 42 and the microcontroller 24 to report the real-timestatus of the control module 18. For example, when the light emittingdiode devices 44 are red and flashing, it provides notification to theuser that the one or more of the sensor devices 12 are communicating astatus signal 16 to activate the heating function of the heating coolingdevices 20. However, the control module 18 is blocking the status signal16 from activating the heating and cooling devices by not communicatinga corresponding control signal 22. The control module 18 may haveblocked the activation of the heating and cooling devices 20 inaccordance with the routine being simultaneously operated by themicrocontroller 24, for example. Alternatively, the control module 18may block the status signals 16 if the supply of energy to the heatingand cooling devices 20 would be inefficient.

Referring to FIG. 2, there are circumstances where the control module 18should be taken off-line allowing the status signals 16 from the one ormore sensor devices 12 to directly control the heating and coolingdevices 20. For example, in the event of a power failure, the controlmodule 18 can be manually disconnected by actuating one or more bypassswitches 46 shown in FIG. 2. The bypass switches 46 may be any suitableelectro-mechanical or solid state switch known in the heating andcooling art. It can be seen that when one or more poles 48 associatedwith the bypass switches 46 are disengaged, as first pole 60 willconnect with a second pole 52, and a third pole 54 will connect with afourth pole 56. Simultaneously, the first pole 50 will disconnect fromthe third pole 54, thereby directly connecting the one or more sensordevices 12 directly to the corresponding one or more heating and coolingdevices 20. By this design, the one or more sensor devices 12 willcommunicate the status signals 16 directly to the one or more heatingand cooling devices 20, and the energy savings resulting from the use ofthe control system 10 will be lost until the first and third poles 50and 54 are reengaged.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the user may engage anddisengage the bypass switches 46 remotely using the external computingdevice 40 which communicates with the control module 18 via thecommunication means 28 and the microcontroller 24. By this design, theuser may engage or disengage the control module 18 to test and monitorthe performance of the sensor devices 12 and/or the heating and coolingdevices 20 in the regulated area 14 without the control signals 22 fromthe control module 18. This will enable the user to obtain an energysupply baseline for determining the efficiency benefits of the controlmodule 18 or for optimizing the algorithms, instructions and routinesthat analyze and generate the status and control signals 18, 22,respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control module 18 is provided with a batterymeans 60 for receiving an external power supply 62, such as a 24V AC/DC,and converting the power supply 62 to suitable voltage for operating thecomponents of the control module 18, including the microcontroller 24,memory means 26, communication means 28 and clock module 30. Preferablythe battery means 60 is capable of converting the power supply 62 from24 volts to 3-5 volts DC, which commonly the voltage required to operatethe microcontroller 24 and the other components of the control module18. The battery means 60 may also be provided with an internal back-upbattery 64 for maintaining the operability of the control module 18 inthe event of an interruption to the external power supply 62.

As further shown in FIG. 2, control module 18 also includes analogue todigital converter 66 and a digital to analogy converter 68. It should beappreciated that any known or hereafter developed converters 66, 68 maybe used as interface conditioners, filters and/or converters in thecontrol module 18 to convert the various voltages and modes of thestatus and control signals 16, 22 received and transmitted by thecontrol module 18.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 in which the steps in an embodiment of amethod for efficiently managing the supply of energy to heating andcooling devices 20 based on environmental conditions within a regulatedarea 14 are shown generally as 100, and commence at step 110. At step112, the control module 18 programs and selects one or more routinesfrom a set of routines for efficiently supplying energy to the heatingand cooling devices 20 for the activation or deactivation thereof.Referring to FIG. 4, shown is an exemplary embodiment of a set ofheating routines 70 utilized by the microcontroller 24 of the controlmodule 18 to activate and deactivate the heating and cooling devices 20based on the environmental conditions within the regulated area 14, theone or more status signals 16, and the one or more control signals 22.The set of heating routines 70 in the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention comprises of sixteen individual routines 72 (0 through9, A through F) shown in horizontal rows in FIG. 4, each consisting ofsixteen time intervals 74. Each of the routines 72 have a combination of“on” and “off” control signal entries 76 which instruct the controlmodule 18 to communicate on or more control signals 22 to activate ordeactivate, respectively, the heating and cooling devices 20. For thepurpose of illustration, the “on” control signal entries 22 areidentified as “⊖”, and the “off” control signal entries 22 areidentified as “O”.

Once the programmed individual routine 72 has been selected at step 112,the method proceeds to step 114. At step 114, the method performs thefirst interval 74 of the chosen routine 72. For example referring to thefirst heating routine 72 in FIG. 4, referenced as “H-O”, the “on”control signal entry 76 programmed by the control system 10 at the firsttime interval 74 instructs the control module 18 to communicate one ormore control signals 22 to activate the heating and cooling devices 20.The heating and cooling devices 20 are activated throughout the firsttime interval 74. If there are further intervals 74 to be performed bythe control system 10 at step 116, further one Of more control signals22 are communicated by the control module 18 at the commencement of thenext time interval 74 to deactivate the heating and cooling devices 20.However, if one or more status signals 22 are received from the sensordevices 12 by the control module 18 requiring the activation of theheating and cooling devices 20 at step 118, the method communicates oneor more control signals 22 to the heating and cooling devices 20 at step120. If no status signals 16 are received by the control module 18 fromthe one or more sensor devices 12, the method returns to step 116 whereit is determine whether there is a further time interval 74 in theroutine 72 to be performed.

Following the completion of the next time interval 74, the methodproceeds to step 114. The method then proceeds to step 116 to determinewhether further time intervals 74 are to be performed in the subjectroutine. The method proceeds to step 118 where it is again determinedwhether any status signals 16 were received by the control module 18. Ifno status signals 16 were received the method returns to step 114 for afurther iteration of the steps 114, 116 and 118.

Continuing with exemplary embodiment of the first heating routine inFIG. 4, and assuming that no status signals 16 are received from the oneor more sensor devices 12, the control module 18 continues tocommunicate one or more control signals 22 to the heating and coolingdevices 20 during the first through eight time intervals at steps 114,116, and 118. The one or more control signals 22 instruct the heatingand cooling devices to remain deactivated. On the ninth iteration 74 ofsteps 114, 116 and 118, the individual routine 72 communicates a further“or” control signal entry 76 instructing the control module 18 tocommunicate one or more control signals 22 for the activation of theheating and cooling devices 20. At the commencement of the tenth timeinterval 74, the control module 18 is the instructed to generates andcommunicate a further “off” control signal entry 76 which instructs thecontrol module 18 to once again deactivate the heating and coolingdevices 20. The heating and cooling devices 20 then remains deactivatedfor the next seven iterations of steps 116 and 118, as programmed in theremaining seven time intervals 74 of the H-O routine.

In use, each individual routine 72 will run continuously through each ofthe time intervals 74 (left to right in FIG. 4) for the pre-programmedor user defined time intervals 74 until the end of the routine 72 isreached or unless one or more status signals 16 are received from theone or more sensor devices 12. If, at step 118, one or more statussignals 16 are communicated to the control module 18 requesting theactivation of the heating and cooling devices 20, the method willactivate the heating and cooling devices 20 at step 120, and thenproceed to step 122. However, if the one or more status signals 16communicated to the control module 18 correspond to the pre-programmedor user define control signal entries 76 in the routine 72 currentlybeing generated and communicated by the control module 18, the methodwill return to step 114 to perform a further iteration of steps 114, 116and 118, and the remaining time intervals 74 of the routine 72.

At the end of each individual heating or cooling routine 72, or wheninterrupted by on or more status signals 16 from the sensor devices 12,the control module 18 will proceed to step 124, where an analysis isperformed to determine the current status of the control system 10.

At step 124, the control system 10 determines whether the one or moresensor devices 12 have communicated any status signals 22 to activatethe heating and cooling devices 20 between a pre-defined minimum periodand a pre-defined maximum period. The pre-defined minimum period may beequal to the total time interval 74 for each of the routines 72, suchas, for example, sixteen minutes as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. If theheating and cooling devices 20 have not been activated between thepre-defined minimum and maximum periods, the control module 18 willgenerate and communicate one or more control signals 22 at step 128 toactivate the heating and cooling devices 20 and provide heating orcooling to the regulated area 14. If the most recent activation of theheating and cooling devices 20 at step 124 was to request heating in theregulated area 14, the control module 18 will communicate one or morecontrol signals 22 at step 126 to activate the heating function of theheating and cooling devices 20. Similarly, if the most recent activationof the heating and coding devices at step 124 was to request cooling inthe regulated area 14, the control module 18 will communicate one ormore control signals 22 at step 126 to activate the cooling function ofthe heating and cooling devices 20.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a default routine 78 can be specified ineach set of routines 70 for the heating and cooling functions of theheating and cooling devices 20, and are referenced as routines H-8 andC-8, respectively, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention,the control system 10 initiates and performs the appropriate defaultroutine 78 at step 126 when the control system 10 is first connected andturned engaged. The default routine 78 at step 126 is also initiated andperformed whenever the control system 10 determines at step 124 that theone or more sensor devices 12 have not communicated any status signals16 requesting the activation of the heating and cooling devices 20 for apre defined period.

If step 124, the one or more sensor devices 12 have communicated one ormore status signals 22 to activate the heating and cooling devices 20between the pre-defined minimum period and the pre-defined maximumperiod, the control system 10 at step 128 determines whether the actualtime interval of the most recent activation of the heating and coolingdevices corresponds to the pre-programmed or user defined time interval74 of the control signal entry 76 in the subject routine 72.

If, at step 128, a discrepancy between the times is discovered and theactual duration of the activation of the heating and cooling devices 20was greater than that instructed by the control module 18, the controlsystem immediately initiates the next routine in the series of routines70 at step 130. For example, if the last heating routine initiated andperformed by the control system 10 was H-3 in FIG. 4, the control system10 would then initiate heating routine H-4 at step 130. Similarly if thelast cooling routine initiated and performed by the control system 10was C-8 in FIG. 5, the control system 10 would then initiate coolingroutine C-9 at step 130.

Conversely, if, at step 128, a discrepancy between the times isdiscovered and the actual duration of the activation of the heating andcooling devices 20 was less than that instructed by the control module18, the control system 10 immediately initiates the previous routine inthe series of routines 70 at step 130. For example, if the last heatingroutine initiated and performed by the control system 10 was H-3 in FIG.4, the control system 10 would then initiate heating routine H-2 at step130. Similarly, if the last cooling routine initiated and performed bythe control system 10 was C-9 in FIG. 5, the control system 10 wouldthen initiate cooling routine H-8 at step 130. If there is nodiscrepancy between the times, the control system immediately initiatesand performs the same heating or cooling routine again at step 130.

While the method of the present invention has been primarily describedwith reference to the series of routines 70 for heating functions shownin FIG. 4, it should be understood that the identical steps in FIG. 6may be performed in relation to the series of routines 70 for coolingfunctions in FIG. 5.

While the set of heating routines shown in FIG. 4 consist of sixteenindividual routines corresponding to sixteen time intervals, it shouldbe understood that any number of individual routines and time intervalsmay be utilized by the control system and method of the presentinvention. Moreover, it is to be understood that any number andcombination of “on” and “off” control signals entries can be utilized inany given individual routine or set of routines.

While what has been shown and described herein constitutes a preferredembodiment of the subject invention, it should be understood thatvarious modifications and adaptations of such embodiment can be madewithout departing from the present invention, the scope of which isdefined in herein and in the appended claims.

As detailed in the Application Data Sheet fed concurrently herewith,this application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/655,235, filed Jan. 19, 2007, whichin turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/750,762, filed Jan. 19, 2006. The contents of both of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

That which is claimed:
 1. A device for controlling heating or coolingcalls from a thermostat to one or more heating or cooling devices, saiddevice comprising: a memory module adapted for storing a plurality ofsequential routines, each routine comprising a plurality of sequentialtime intervals and a corresponding on or off state for each timeinterval, wherein a sum of the plurality of sequential time intervalsfor each routine comprises a total routine time interval; and a controlmodule for determining which of the plurality of sequential routines toexecute based on one or more of (i) whether a heating or cooling callreceived from the thermostat terminates before the total routine timeinterval lapses, (ii) whether a heating or cooling call from thethermostat continues uninterrupted for the total routine time interval,and (iii) whether no heating or cooling call is received from thethermostat for the total routine time interval.
 2. The device of claim1, wherein, in response to receiving the heating or cooling call fromthe thermostat, the control module executes a designated current routinefrom a beginning point, the designated current routine comprising thedetermined sequential routine, wherein executing the designated currentroutine comprises (a) sending a heating or cooling activation signal tothe one or more heating or cooling devices if a current time interval ofthe designated current routine comprises an on state or (b) not sendinga heating or cooling activation signal to the one or more heating orcooling devices if the current time interval of the designated currentroutine comprises an off state.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein: ifthe heating or cooling call received from the thermostat terminatesbefore the total routine time interval lapses, the control module stopsexecution of the designated current routine and waiting for a subsequentheating or cooling call to be received from the thermostat before againexecuting the designated current routine from the beginning point; ifthe heating or cooling call from the thermostat continues uninterruptedfor the total routine time interval, the control module designates adifferent routine as the designated current routine and executing thenewly designated current routine from a beginning point, the differentroutine being along the sequential routines in a first direction fromthe previously designated current routine; and if no heating or coolingcall is received from the thermostat continues for the total routinetime interval, the control module designates a different routine as thedesignated current routine and executing the newly designated currentroutine from a beginning point, the different routine being along thesequential routines in a second direction from the previously designatedcurrent routine, the second direction being opposite the firstdirection.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the total routine timeintervals for each of the plurality of routines are equal.
 5. The deviceof claim 3, wherein, if the heating or cooling call from the thermostatcontinues uninterrupted for the total routine time interval, thedifferent routine being designated as the current routine is along thesequential routines in a first direction from the previously designatedcurrent routine and immediately adjacent the previously designatedcurrent routine.
 6. The device of claim 3, wherein, if no heating orcooling call is received from the thermostat continues for the totalroutine time interval, the different routine being designated as thecurrent routine is along the sequential routines in a second directionfrom the previously designated current routine and immediately adjacentthe previously designated current routine.
 7. The device of claim 1,wherein, if no heating or cooling call is received from the thermostatfor a predefined extended time period, then any subsequent heating orcooling calls will be allowed to pass unimpeded to the one or moreheating or cooling devices until a preset temperature is reached.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, further comprising a bypass switch, and wherein: thecontrol module receives a bypass signal from the bypass switch; thecontrol module captures data regarding on and off states of the one ormore heating and cooling devices as if a designated current routine wereexecuting from a beginning point, the designated current routinecomprising the determined sequential routine, wherein executing thedesignated current routine comprises (a) sending a heating or coolingactivation signal to the one or more heating or cooling devices if acurrent time interval of the designated current routine comprises an onstate or (b) not sending a heating or cooling activation signal to theone or more heating or cooling devices if the current time interval ofthe designated current routine comprises an off state; and the controlmodule allows the heating or cooling call to be communicated directlyfrom the thermostat to the one or more heating or cooling devices.